Christmas Break
by bleeker8
Summary: Kurt and Blaine get together for some holiday fun and mixed messages over their winter break
1. Chapter 1: T'was the Night before Xmas

**Christmas Break**

**Chapter 1: T'was the Night before Christmas**

Kurt was home for Christmas. Carole was cooking Christmas Eve dinner and Kurt didn't even mind that his place as the family chef had been usurped. It was fun to chop pecans for her praline sweet potatoes and watch Carole and his dad joke around together in between listening to all of his entertaining stories from Dalton.

Kurt was, however, watching the clock carefully. The last performance of the King Island Christmas Spectacular was supposedly done at eight. He had been trying to come up with a witty text to send Blaine.

Kurt ducked his head and quickly typed,

**I BET YOU KNOCKED THEIR SOCKS...**

then quickly deleted it. That was the amazingly witty thing I came up with. I've had hours, he thought as he retyped…

**I BET YOU KNOCKED THEIR CHRISTMAS SOCKS OFF**…send.

Kurt groaned. That was even worse.

"Everything okay, kid." Burt looked over at him.

"I just hit send on a regrettably embarrassing text."

Burt looked like he was trying to think of the right thing to say. "I've got nothing."

"I'm sure it wasn't as bad as you thought, dear." Carole said patting him on the leg. Then she took a turn glancing at the clock.

Finn was at Mr. Schue's but would be home soon for a late dinner. Kurt could have gone…maybe should've gone…but the fact was he missed his dad and he felt guilty for boarding at Dalton. It wouldn't feel right to run out just minutes after he got home.

"Is Rachel coming tonight?" Normally, Rachel wasn't Kurt's favorite diva but he had been missing even her and she had been texting and e-mailing him regularly up until a few days ago. Kurt knew the main reason for all the attention was to see if Kurt would slip up and offer any information on the competition. But still, it was nice.

"I think they might have broken up. Finn's been moping around."  
"What happened?"

"He won't say. If I ask, he just slams something and rushes from the room."

"I can totally find out for you…" Kurt pulled out his phone and texted Mercedes.

**WHATS UP WITH FINN AND RACH**

**DID SHE TOTALLY FLIP OVER THE SANTANA THING**

Mercedes texted back immediately. Which made it even more obvious that Blaine had not-texted back yet. They are probably still applauding…

**TOTALLY…RIGHT INTO PUCK'S BED**

**THATS LOW EVEN FOR HER**

**I DONT THINK THEY DID IT THO**

**I DONT THINK RACHEL WOULD PUT OUT EVEN FOR REVENGE**

Kurt looked up at Carole's earnest face. No way could he tell her that they were on a break because Rachel found out that he had slept with Santana. So she cheated on him with the same guy that Quinn did. No way could he tell Carole. Finn would kill him. How could he translate this into Mom-speak?

"They were on a break and Rachel tried to make him jealous. It backfired. I don't know many details".

"No," Burt gestured toward the phone. "I don't see how you could get too many details using only your thumbs."

"I am sure Finn must be devastated." Kurt replied but then immediately knew it was the wrong thing to say. The worry deepened on Carole's face. "But he'll be fine." Kurt added, glancing at the clock. Almost twenty minutes had passed since he had sent that text. The ovations can't be lasting this long. Had Blaine turned his phone off? Was he ignoring him? Was Blaine excited to have some Kurt-free holiday break time? Kurt groaned again. I am too needy aren't I? I am. I don't know why he doesn't run screaming anytime he sees me approaching him to ask him one more time how to find my biology classroom. It's as if the entire science wing disappears everyday right before third period.

Kurt was so caught up with his inner monologue that he almost didn't notice his phone vibrating. It had to be Mercedes calling to give him the dish about Finn and Rachel.

Kurt slipped into the hallway to take the call.

"Merry Christmas Eve, Girlfriend! How are you! I want all the juicy details."

There was a chuckle on the other end of the line. Kurt checked his caller id.

"Blaine! I thought you were Mercendes-" Kurt was sure that Blaine could see him blush even over the phone.

"People confuse me for her all the time. You wouldn't believe how often I get mistaken for Mercedes."

Kurt laughed with relief. "So how was it? How many standing ovations did you get?"

"It was a lot of fun. I'm just packing up my things now. I'm about to head home for the holidays."

"What did your folks think of the show?"

"They didn't see it. My dad's in Cleveland to do Christmas with my step-mom's clan. And my mom called right before the show to tell me that her plane was delayed. She and my step-dad are stuck in some snowstorm at La Guardia. Hopefully, they'll be home tomorrow."

"So you're alone for Christmas?"

"My mom should be home tomorrow. Then we'll go to Granny's."

"You should come over-"

"Nah, I've got to get the house looking festive. There are no decorations up yet. They've been in Geneva for a couple months. My step dad has a lot of work over there."

"You can't spend Christmas Eve alone. Come have dinner with us."

"No-your family…it's a family thing. I couldn't.'  
"It's no big deal. Finn isn't even home yet. We're having a really late dinner and it's our first holiday together. You won't be messing up any traditions because we haven't made any yet. Come."

"Are you sure it's okay?"

"Yes!"

"You didn't even ask."

"It's okay. Come! You're coming. I'm hanging up before you can say no. See you soon."

Kurt clicked the phone off.

It vibrated again. Blaine. He debated picking it up-he would be so disappointed if Blaine turned down his invitation.

But he clicked it on and brought it tentatively to his ear. "Yes?"

"I'm going to need directions."

Finn had just gotten home and was filling them all in on all the Glee Club Christmas festivities when the doorbell rang. Kurt jumped up, clapping his hands and running for the door. Burt, Carole, and a somewhat reluctant Finn followed. I hope this isn't too weird, Finn thought. But he needn't have worried. Blaine, with his usual charm and good manners, quickly fit right in. There was a lot of laughter and talking over a –surprisingly delicious-dinner. "This is amazing, Carole." Kurt gushed.

Then the guys all retired to the living room while Carole cleaned up.

"I should help-" Kurt offered.

"Absolutely not, sweetie." You've been working so hard at school. Go visit. Your dad has missed you so much."

"So Kurt actually snuck in Dalton to spy on the Warblers?" Finn asked.

"It was Puck's idea." Kurt shrugged.

"He pretended to be a new student. But I knew right away that wasn't a new student and when he introduced himself as Kurt, I totally recognized him. New Directions isn't the only team that checks out their competition."

"You knew right away." Kurt looked hurt.

"You were a horrible spy. But you weren't the only McKinley kid to come spying." Blaine looked right at Finn. "Rachel Berry has been at every one of our performances and she takes copious notes. I think she-and Finn-even snuck in to Lenny Gold's sister's Bat Mitzvah to watch us perform."

Finn was looking at his shoes.

"I think she even made you dance the Hora."

"Rachel can take things to the extreme." Finn said very quietly.

"That's why I wondered if maybe spying wasn't really the reason you came. You had no way of knowing that we'd be doing a performance in the middle of the day. Plus, I'd clocked you right away."

Kurt didn't really need to ask how; people clocked him all the time.

"Most of our "new kids" don't wear Audrey Hepburn sunglasses and knock off Oscar de la Renta blazers." Blaine smiled at his friend.

Carole came in with a plate of cookies and set it on the end table.

"Come sit down, dear. I'll help you clean up tomorrow."

"I'm almost done." She said disappearing again.

"So besides spying what other talents does Kurt have?"

"He played football." Finn offered.

"I love football." Blaine smiled.

"Who's your team?" Burt asked.

"Buckeyes." Definitely."

"Kurt was our kicker." Finn offered. "Of course he made the whole football team dance to All the Single Ladies." Finn added.

"Lot's of professional football team learn ballet-for coordination purposes." Kurt explained.

Blaine couldn't stop laughing. "Is there a video? That sounds too good to miss."

"First game, McKinley won in years." Burt said proudly. "Kurt kicked in the winning goal. Tie game."

"We might have won the championship if Kurt had stayed on the team."

"You quit?"

"It wasn't really my thing." Kurt shrugged, but Blaine caught something.

"Karovsky's on the football team."

Kurt looked down at the carpet.

"He have something to do with why you quit?" Finn asked.

"I just didn't want to share a locker room with him."

"You mean he didn't want to share one with you." Blaine corrected.

"Is that when this started?" Burt looked angry and confused.

Kurt looked up at the ceiling.

"When exactly did it start?" Burt pushed.

"First…the first day of school."

"Oh no!" Finn cried, looking like he might be suffering from acute appendicitis. "That was you wasn't it? Oh man, I'm sorry. Karovsky said…Oh man. I'm sorry. If it makes any difference I didn't want to- I just wanted to be part of the team. Oh god." Finn was doubled over.

"What? What's going on?"

"Nothing, dad. Don't worry Finn. Prejudice is just ignorance." Kurt explained, quoting someone special. "When people know better they do better."

There was an awkward silence. Carole came to the door with a dishrag since it was suddenly so silent. "We could sing Christmas songs." Blaine suggested. "Carole what is your favorite Christmas song?"

"Oh Holy Night." She said simply, smiling.

"Kurt your voice would be perfect. Finn and I will back you up."

Next Finn sang "Drummer Boy" with Blaine and Kurt backing him up Warbler accapella style.

Then Carole and Burt convinced Blaine to sing "Baby, it's Cold Outside" from his show. And he convinced Kurt to help him.

When the song was done there was an awkward silence again. Kurt giggled and Blaine shifted away from him from where they had ended up on the couch. "I still think Kurt sings the song better than the one they cast for the show."

"Why don't we all sing "Silent Night," Carole suggested. And it was amazing.

"That was beautiful," Burt said when they finished. He almost looked like he was going to tear up. "This is what a real Christmas should be like. I'm glad you are all here."

Kurt got up and hugged his dad, with Carole jumping on too. Finn and Blaine just kind of smiled and nodded awkwardly at each other.

"I should probably get going. I've got to drive to Akron tonight-"

"I thought you lived in Marysville?" Kurt asked.

"My dad does."

"Mom and Jerry have a condo in Akron."

"That's so far to go-Do you know when they get in?" Carole asked.

"They won't know until tomorrow, if the weather will be good enough to get out but the storm was clearing."

"You should stay here." Burt offered.

"No, I've got to make the place look festive before they get there or it won't feel like Christmas tomorrow."

"But it's so late." Carole tried.

Kurt walked Blaine to the door.

"I've got a present for you," Blaine whispered, trying to be discreet.

"A present!" Kurt shrieked. "I got one for you too. Hold on. It's not wrapped. But-hold on." And ran out of the room. They could all hear him crashing down the stairs to the room he still shared with Finn on the weekends.

Blaine had gotten them tickets to Wicked in January. "There are two. They are both for you but I am free that night." Blaine whispered with a teasing smile.

"Mine is a scarf." Kurt said pulling it out from behind his back. "It will go wonderful with your coat. And it's got green flecks in it to bring out the hazel in your eyes. This goes much better than your other scarf. Not that you don't look-"Kurt became aware that his whole family was crowded around-"Okay in those colors. Dalton colors. The blue goes well, sort of, with your, um hair color. But this actually matches the coat and well, it's better for your skin tone.

Finn interrupted, "Dude, you should shut up now."

"Well, thank you." Blaine said blushing. "I didn't realize I looked so bad but I glad you came to the rescue." Then noticing that his friend looked horrible added, "I'm teasing," Blaine added "I know that you weren't trying to tell me that I look awful. I love it. Thank you."

Kurt watched Blaine walk to his car. He sighed and the twirled into the house. Not realizing that his family was still standing there too.

"Like somebody much?" Finn asked relieved Kurt's romantic attentions had moved elsewhere.

"Alright, yes, he's dreamy!" Kurt said. "But he's just a friend. I mean I may be in love with him but he is just a friend. He does not like me like that at all."

Carole remembered the look on Blaine's face as he was singing the duet with Kurt. "Oh, don't be so sure, honey."

"Don't worry. I wouldn't be that lucky. But this was a good Christmas." Kurt announced.

"Yes it was," Burt said putting his arm around Carole. "Merry Christmas Everyone."


	2. Chapter 2: Creatures were Stirring

**Chapter 2: The Creatures are Stirring**

"You make me feel like I am living a teenage dream," came blasting out of Kurt's phone.

Kurt practically tipped over the couch as he lunged for the phone. Then, trying not to sound breathless he answered with what he hoped was a calm and collected, "Hi,"

"Hey. Are you available to provide assistance to a fellow Warbler? I am in the middle of an emergency situation."

Kurt felt his heart flip over. "Of course. What's wrong?"

"A five year old. And two three year old twins. I'm on day two of a three day babysitting gig. My dad and step-mom are at some new spa-retreat place and I am about to go out of my mind. I don't know how my step-mom does it. These kids are…monsters…"

There was giggling in the background and Kurt realized that Blaine was saying that to tease his half siblings.

"Monsters with sharp horns and sharp teeth…ouch, Clay, don't bite. You can pretend to be a monster. But don't actually bite me."

"I'll help." Kurt gulped.

"Good. I'm loading them into the car RIGHT NOW. We'll come get you right away."

"Have you guys had lunch yet? I can make something."

"We don't want to be a problem…"

"Don't worry, the parental units are at work and Finn is off have another very long conversation with Rachel."

As soon as he was off the phone, Kurt tried to remember what the culinary tastes of preschoolers were like. It wasn't hard. Finn still hadn't graduated from that level. "Macaroni and cheese it is. With hotdogs."

The three kids greeted Kurt politely (good manners were obviously stressed in Blaine's family) and then after shyly peeking around sat down to eat.

"I don't know why you were having a hard time. They look like angels to me."

Just then, Clay or Will, one of the twins, Kurt could not tell them apart at all, leaned over and wiped his nose on his brother's shirt.

Then the other tried to reach across the table to help himself to the ketchup, which squirted across the table, dousing the table cloth and for some odd reason this caused Ellie to scream her head off as if the sight of spilled ketchup was causing her to relive memories from a grisly murder scene.

Will-or Clay- jumped back into his seat but knocked over his water which made a river beeline straight for Clay-or Will.

"Wet, wet, I wet, wet." Clay leaped from the table and began dancing around and trying to rip his cloths off. When his shirt got stuck as he tried to pull it off his head, he wailed in frustration.

"I'm yours for as long as you need." Kurt said taking in the whole scene.

"Be careful-I could read a lot into that offer." Blaine said huskily but then begged," The whole day. The whole night. Tomorrow. Clay you don't have to take everything off just because a little water spilled on your pants."

"Here, I can take those. A couple minutes in the dryer should fix that." Kurt rushed the clothes to the garage followed by a curious three year old

. When they got back from dumping the clothes in the dryer, (which was full of Finn's football stuff now left in a pile on top of the washer) Blaine had somehow quieted the other two and wiped most of the ketchup up.

"Sorry,"

"That old thing!" Kurt tried to channel a 1950s housewife, "Don't worry about it. A little Oxyclean will work like magic."

Clay-or Will-one of the twins tugged on Blaine's shirt. "What we gonna do now, Bane?"

They were piled in the mini-van heading toward the mall. "I think the candy-cane spectacular is still up. Supposedly, there is a candy cane maze and some Christmas themed displays. The kids might like it." Kurt offered.

"This is-amazing…" Blaine said a couple of minutes later.

Kurt looked sheepish. They were standing at the entry to the candy cane maze…made out of Styrofoam candy canes that came up to their thighs. Every once in a while there was a poster (the Christmas theme displays) that looked like management just picked employees at random and asked them to draw something holiday with stubby crayons.

"I didn't know." Kurt blushed.

"Don't feel bad. You didn't know. On the upside, we won't get lost in the maze. You know- since we can overlook the whole thing."

"Blaine?" Ellie pulled at his coat sleeve. She pointed at-well, one of the twins- who had just taken a bite out of one of the Styrofoam candy-canes.

"Will, stop!"

"Ick," Will spit out a mouthful.

"Of course it's ick. It's just a pretend candy cane."

After they had gone maybe five feet-the line to get through wasn't moving very fast- Ellie pulled at Blaine's sleeve again and pointed.

"Will!" Blaine bent down. "They are all pretend. Don't eat any of the candy canes. They are all just decorations."

After they emerged the group window shopped for awhile. The older boys didn't trust the little boys to go into any store. They came to a fence that sealed off the open rotunda below. The kids became fascinated with watching the action below. Kurt plopped down on a bench and Blaine popped down below him.

"How was Christmas at your mom's?"

"Good. Quiet."

"Get anything good?" As soon as he said it, Kurt wondered if that was a tacky thing to say.

"They were getting back from a business trip in Geneva. I got a watch. And some money. And a sweater."

"You? What did Finn get you?"

Just then Ellie was back. She pointed at—one of the twins-who had his pants down by his ankles, squatting in front of a giant-sized fake poinsettia.

"Clay, no…"

But it was too late there was already a little poop sitting right there. Right where Clay had just been. Will was wandering over to investigate. "Poop." He said.

"You wouldn't happen to have a plastic bag on you would you?" Kurt asked and then got practically hysterical. "We should just run!"

Blaine did scoop it up with a discarded newspaper and throw it in the trash. "I've got to find a bathroom. Immediately. Clay, we only poop in the potty."

They went back to Blaine's dad's house. Kurt was impressed. Each of the children-all four of them-had their own room. There was a guest room. And his parents had a whole suite-most of Kurt's house could fit into the master suite. Kurt was sure he hadn't seen them all but there seemed to be more bathrooms than people living in the house.

They spent the afternoon playing. They played trucks and then Blaine wrestled with the twins while Kurt colored with Ellie. Then Kurt attempted to put on a puppet show until the twins decided to tackle the puppeteer.

For dinner they headed out to a Pizza Palace where the kids ran back and forth from the table to the handful of arcade games.

As they were pulling back in to the driveway, Blaine muttered. "Still an hour until bedtime."

"We could make cookies," Kurt suggested.

"Yes!" Ellie shrieked. "Christmas cookies with frosting and sprinkles."

"Christmas is technically over." Blaine began to explain.

"Then why is the tree still up." Ellie said emphatically.

"Christmas cookies it is."

As Kurt was whipping up some frosting he made the mistake of leaving the powdered sugar open on the counter. Clay-or Will-made a grab for it.

It spilled out leaving a white dusting on the counter and floor.

Clay's-or Will's- eyes got wide.

"It's snowing!" He screamed and then tearing at the bag he proceeded to throw powdered sugar all over the kitchen.

Blaine wasn't having much luck keeping the dining room clean either. The dough was sticky and more and more flour was needed to get any of them from the table onto the cookie sheets.

The cookies took longer than Kurt and Blaine thought so they left the mess to toss the kids into the bathtub.

"Will you grab their pajamas while I watch them?" Blaine asked. "The twins still wear pull ups to bed. There's a basket of them underneath the sink."

Kurt found a princess themed bedroom with a giant pink canopy bed and a mural painted on the wall that made it seemed as if the room was in a castle and out of the big castle window you could see life happening on the grounds below. There was a slight "locked up in the tower" feel to the room but it was gorgeous.

Will's bedroom had a space theme. His bed was shaped like a rocket-it flew vertically almost all the way to the ceiling. You actually climbed into the capsule and the bed was tucked in there. Clay slept in a very realistically looking yellow submarine. The mural of the deep sea was flawless.

Kurt had to see Blaine's room. He tossed the clothes to his friend and said, "So what is the theme of your bedroom? Scaling Mt. Everest, Broadway? Their rooms are awesome. I've got to see yours."

"You'll be disappointed. It's down that hall to your right."

Kurt rushed off. The room wasn't disappointing exactly. The theme was blue. Everything in the room was blue. Monochromatic. Simple but huge and you can tell the duvet cover alone probably cost more than probably in the Hudson-Hummel household. There was a small sitting area and an area for studying. A sweatshirt was tossed over a wooden chair. Kurt picked it up and smelled in-inhaling deeply and then blushing. What if Blaine walked in at that moment?

Kurt inspected a wall of black and white photos-mostly of friends at Dalton. There were some of Blaine at various ages. Doing various things. Blaine playing some sport. Blaine as a kid-only a little older than Ellie-playing a piano in a tuxedo. There was a bookshelf crammed with books and cds. It was a nice room but it wasn't anywhere near as Blaine-y as Blaine's half of the dorm room he shared with Wes.

Kurt couldn't help but peek into the master suite. That is-until he heard the scamper of little feet running his way.


	3. Chapter 3:Children were Cuddled, snug

**Chapter 3: The Children Were Cuddled, All Snug in their Bed**

All the kids ended up sleeping in Ellie's bed. But it took almost an hour of Blaine and Kurt singing every kid's song they knew to do it.

Kurt was sitting against the wall when Blaine plopped down beside him. Their shoulders were touching. Kurt could feel his stomach tighten. He was flooded with warmth.

"Finally. They are all sleeping. Wow."

Kurt could only let a small giggle.

Blaine was leaning against Kurt. "No wonder my step-mom always looks so tired."

"They are adorable. I had fun."

"Thank you, I really appreciate this."

"Anytime."

"I would leave the cleaning until tomorrow but there is no way I'll be able to do it if the kids are awake."

"We should go do it now."

"You don't have to help. You've done enough."

"Of course, I'll help." Kurt bumped Blaine's shoulders. "Where should we start?"

"I thought I'd go deflood the bathroom. Then we can tackle downstairs."

Kurt nodded but he didn't move to get up. He wished they could stay like this-pressed against each other. He loved the warmth of Blaine, his scent, his…

"I am really going to owe you. Anything you need. Ever."

"You took on Karofsky for me. You've shown me the ropes at Dalton. I think I'm still in your debt."

"No, no, no."

"Of course, I did introduce you to the cultural phenomenon that is Candy Cane World at the Lima, Ohio Mall."

Blaine laughed, wishing he could think of something funny to say. Kurt was so good at that.

Blaine was throwing in a load of towels and Kurt went downstairs to start on the kitchen. As he came into the kitchen he almost slipped in a puddle of spilled milk. He caught himself on the counter. And looked around to make sure Blaine didn't see how clumsy he was. Kurt went to fill the sink with hot water so he could start wiping, and washing and-mopping apparently. The kitchen was an absolute disaster.

Blaine came into the kitchen, hit the same puddle of milk and went crashing to the floor When Kurt reached around to help stop the fall, Blaine grabbed on to him and drug him down too.

Again, they were side by side. Pressed up against each other.

"Are you okay?" Blaine asked.

"Peachy." Kurt said although his elbow was killing him. Not the elbow touching Blaine. That one was hot for a much different reason.

"I didn't mean to make you fall too. Ah, maybe I did." If it was possible Kurt thought Blaine might have pushed himself closer.

They lay there for a minute. "I'm glad you are here." Blaine said.

Kurt couldn't stand the tension one more second so he picked up a handful of spilt powdered sugar and tossed it up over Blaine.

"Look, Snow!" Kurt exclaimed copying Clay-or Will.

"Hey," Blaine laughed and rolled over so that he lay almost on top of Kurt, half pinning Kurt to the floor.

Kurt felt his stomach knot up and his breath caught in his throat. His eyes opened wide. Is Blaine?... This is his dream but what if he is misinterpreting this? What if it is nothing and the does something to ruin everything?

He looks terrified, Blaine worried, his own stomach knotting up. He was suddenly filled with doubt. What was he doing? He promised himself he wouldn't push.

"You have a little sugar on your cheek." Blaine voice came out husky. He leaned down and half kissed half licked it off.

He heard Kurt take a sharp intake of breath Blaine bit his lip. "Sorry."

"No, it's oh-"

Suddenly, they heard the front door opening and the crash of luggage in the foyer.

"Oh shit," Blaine said jumping up and carefully brushing powdered sugar from his clothes. "It's my dad."

Kurt jumped up too. He tried brushing his own clothes off but it was hopeless. Kurt noticed that Blaine didn't have a speck on him as he followed his friend into the hall.

"Hey," Blaine said. "You're home early."

"The service at that place was awful," Blaine's father said, throwing his gloves onto the entry table. "I'm not paying that kind of money for crap service." The man caught sight of Kurt. He looked Kurt up and down and didn't seem to like what he saw.

"And when did you ask if you could have a friend over?"

"Dad, this is Kurt." Blaine ignored the question. "Kurt, this is my father, Richard Weston and this is my step-mom Addy."

The woman, pretty, much younger than Blaine's dad, smiled warmly. "Nice to meet you Kurt."

"Are you from Dalton?"

"Yes, sir."

Mr. Weston made a disbelieving sound. "You don't look like Dalton material."

"Dad!" Blaine exclaimed. Addy bit her lip and shrugged sympathetically at Blaine.

"I just transferred." Kurt offered. "I am really liking it there."

There were looks between Mr. Weston and Blaine. "Why? Why'd you transfer?"

Kurt could have sworn he saw Blaine shake his head almost imperceptibly. "For the academics."

Mr. Weston gave his son a hard look.

Addy passed by the boys, giving Blaine a light kiss hello as she passed him by.

"Oh my god," She said as she surveyed her kitchen. "Oh."

"There was a slight disaster. I'm going to clean it all up. I promise. The kids wanted to bake cookies-"

"You're right. This is a disaster." Mr. Weston came into the kitchen.

"I'll clean it up." Blaine repeated.

"When I talked to the kids before dinner they told me how much fun they were having. That's what matters." Addy smiled.

"Fun is one thing, Blaine, but discipline is important too. Discipline and Responsibility. Haven't you learned those things from Dalton yet? "Mr. Weston poured himself a drink. "You better go, Kurt. Blaine has a lot of work to do."

"I'll drive him home and come back and clean," Blaine offered.

"No, I can help clean. I don't mind helping. It will get clean faster."

"How were you planning on getting Kurt home if the children were in bed? So not only did you have a friend over uninvited but he," Mr. Weston put a lot of emphasis on the he, looking pointedly at Blaine, "was going to spend the night?'

Addy put a hand on her husband's arm. "C'mon let's go to bed. Blaine can take care of this mess. Let's us go upstairs and relax."

"You never care if Wes or David spend the night."

"We know Wes and David. We approve of Wes and David."

"You'll approve of Kurt, too."

"I am so disappointed in you Blaine. This just shows such a lack of judgment or forethought-I do not want" there was a pause for emphasis "strange…people in my home when I am…"

Abby tugged on her husband's arm. "C'mon. Technically, we are still on vacation. This can wait until tomorrow. C'mon."

Mr. Weston surveyed his son and Kurt and there was something there that reminded him of Karofsky-as if Mr. Weston wanted to slam his son up against the cabinets. Instead, his shook the ice in his glass and then shaking his own head allowed his wife to lead him upstairs.

As soon as Blaine's folks had disappeared upstairs, Blaine repeated his offer to take Kurt home.

"Not until I scrub this floor!'

"Sorry about that-" Blaine said quietly. Then the older boy got busy cleaning, serious, quiet.

Kurt tried to think of something to say. Somehow he didn't think, boy your dad seems like a jerk, was a good conversation starter. He wanted to let Blaine know somehow that he had his back. He wanted to be there for Blaine because something certainly seemed up between the two. Mr. Weston kind of reminded Kurt of a bully and Kurt couldn't help but wonder if he wasn't that okay with his son's sexuality.

Kurt decided to try to lighten the mood. He didn't like how grimly, Blaine went about cleaning. He wasn't his usual upbeat, confident, friendly self always ready with a smile or a word of advice. He scrubbed the floor murderously.

Kurt found another pinch of powdered sugar on the counter and held it above Blaine, "Look it's snowing!"

"Kurt!" Blaine said wiping it up immediately but it earned him a half smile.

Kurt waited a little bit and then walked up to Blaine who was wiping down the dining room table. He bumped shoulders with him, "Do you think your dad would think it lacked discipline if I pooped in your giant poinsettias."

"What?" Blaine looked a little shocked.

"I blew that one, didn't I. I was referring to our earlier poop related incident at the mall. Out of context..."  
"In context it is still a mildly disturbing image."

"We've got an inside joke."

"Maybe not." Blaine said but he had a full smile on his face. "I don't know how we could ever use that in front of anyone else."

He bumped Kurt's shoulder again and then went back to wiping.

"Do you want me to scrub the floor in here since you did the kitchen?"

"Kurt, you're wonderful. I'll go grab the family room." But almost immediately Blaine's mood seemed to darken again.

Kurt scrubbed as fast as he could. He wanted to do a good job; he didn't want Mr. Weston finding pockets of missed flour to blame on Blaine. But he went as fast as he could because he wanted to go be near Blaine. Maybe there would be a repeat of earlier-when Blaine half-licked, half-kissed the sugar from his face-Kurt could swear that Blaine was just seconds away from really kissing him-on his lips? And if he'd wanted to kiss him that badly a half hour ago that meant the likelihood of it happening again was high, right?

I'm not reading anything into that, right? Kurt wanted to text Mercedes or Tina and ask but he was pretty confident that licking powdered sugar off of somebody else's constituted flirting. Right? He tried to remember if he had ever licked anything off of Mercedes. Definitely not, Kurt was sure that he has never licked anyone. If he could get Blaine in a good mood again maybe he'd get a kiss goodnight. His heart was pounding with excitement and desire and nervousness and fear.

Blaine was quickly depositing toys into their color coordinated and marked baskets. He was mad at his father and didn't like what his father was implying about Kurt or about him. Blaine was frustrated-how could he talk to Kurt about courage when here he was scared to even tell his own father-I mean his father had to know that he was gay after what happened at his old school. The boys you wrote the word faggot on his forehead with a sharpie after roughing him up in a back staircase. But his dad had made such a big deal about what an insult the word faggot was-because being gay to his dad is something horrible to be. So the two of them did a little dance-Blaine left that part of himself at the door to his dad's house and his dad-ever vigilant for anything less than his ideal of what Blaine should be-only came at him sideways.

And Kurt-who he was trying to impress had to see that- had to see that Blaine wasn't as confident as he seemed. Courage, my ass. I can't even stand up to my own dad.

And then Blaine kept replying the scene on the kitchen floor over and over. Blaine had wanted to kiss Kurt so badly but his new friend looked so unsure-frightened even- he couldn't tell if his advances were welcome. Did Kurt think of him as something more or just a friend? Would Kurt tell him if he went too far? Hadn't they been cleaning for hours now? Maybe…?

"Hey,"

Blaine jumped.

"I'm famished-do you think your parents would mind if I ate some of your Christmas decorations. You wouldn't happen to have any giant sized Styrofoam candy canes."

This got another smile from Blaine.

"Now we have two very bad inside jokes."

"Are we done in there?"

"I think so."

"C'mon, I'll drive you home."

Kurt got his small over night case from the hall, disappointed. Did Blaine seem to be in a hurry to get rid of him? Those were absolutely awful jokes. Why did his usual wit always abandon him when he was around Blaine?

"I'm ready whenever you are." Kurt wrapped his scarf around his neck.

"Alright," Blaine smiled but inside he was trying to figure out if Kurt seemed to be in a rush to get out of there. Not that he blamed him. Blaine was usually in a rush to get back to Dalton on the weekends his dad made him come home. He loved Addy and the kids. He was sure he loved his dad too but…

He fished his keys out of his pocket. "Let's go."

There was very little talking in the car on the way back to Lima. The music Blaine put on wasn't even very good in Kurt's opinion. Blaine seemed totally distracted and certainly not interested in kissing anybody.

"Blaine, I had fun today. You siblings are awesome."

"They are."

"Turn down Rock Dump Ave. There's a 24 hour Starbucks. I'm buying you a latte for the drive home."

"You don't have to…"

"If you fall asleep at the wheel on the way home I'll never forgive myself. Besides, I'm craving a caramel macchiato."

Blaine gave in and parked. They walked in and scanning the room, Blaine noticed someone sitting by himself in the far corner. Karofsky. He wasn't wearing his letter jacket and luckily Kurt seemed so focused on convincing Blaine to let him pay that he hadn't notice.

"You better not do anything." Blaine muttered silently to himself and then smiling at Kurt guided him up to the counter. "Fine. Fine. Your treat. Order me what you think I would most like and I'll tell you if you're right."

Blaine kept one eye on Karovsky and the bully was giving them an evil stare but he didn't make a move to get up. I wonder what he is doing here so late? All by himself. There better not be trouble. Blaine remembered how Karovsky was Kurt's first-well, unwelcomed kiss, and it made him want to shove someone into a locker. So Blaine couldn't help when Kurt took a sip and covered his upper lip in a milk froth mustache, to step dangerously close to Kurt and wipe of said mustache with his thumb. Then Blaine licked the froth it off his own thumb.

Kurt's belly flip-flopped.

"Wanna get a table?" He said breathless.

Am I frightening him again? Blaine wondered.

"No, we've gotta get you home."

And he steered Kurt out the door before the newest warbler could look around the room. Blaine could feel Karovsky's eyes burning into their backs.

The walk to the car was casual again. The moment seemed to pass and Kurt, disappointed, was desperate to get it back.

"Blaine," He started as they climbed into their seats, trying not to spill their mochas. "I am really glad you are my friend. You are like the best thing that has happened to me in a long time."

Blaine got stuck on the word friend. Friend. So he is trying to turn me down gently. Friends. Okay. That's okay.

"I'm glad we are friends too." Was the only thing Blaine said until he dropped Kurt off. "So I'll talk to you when we return to Dalton after break?"

"Uh, okay then. I hope the rest of your break is good."

"I head back to my mom's tomorrow so it shouldn't be so bad. See ya."

Kurt opened his door, confused. Like usual Blaine seemed to go hot and then cold. Was he flirting or just being friendly and then it was always like he had to rush off because he was busy or something? "Yep."

Kurt turned to get out and Blaine caught his arm. "Thank you-for everything. I mean it."


	4. Chapter 4: Sprang from my Bed to see wha

**Chapter 4: I Sprang from My Bed to See what was the Matter**

Mercedes was the one springing out of bed as her cell phone buzzed over and over and over and over…

"Wha?"

"Mercedes?" Came a whispered voice.

"Kurt?"  
"Oh thank god you're up-"

"Yea, about that-" Pause. "You okay?"

"I am so confused. Okay, you've got to help me. I can't be reading this wrong. Sometimes, I think Blaine is flirting with me but then he's all business-casual. Why can't I read this…I mean, he pinned me down and licked sugar off my face.

"What? It's late Kurt. That's a weird image."

"We both slipped. I threw powdered sugar on him. And he rolled over almost on top of me and licked some sugar off my face."

"That sounds like flirting."

"I know. I thought he was going to kiss me but then he just jumped up-oh, and that's when his parent's decided to come home but-the whole rest of the night nothing until he licked some latte off my face…

"Sounds like the boys got a fetish with lickin' stuff off your face-"

"I'm not explaining it right. He stood so close to me, I'm sure he could hear my heart beating. If it hadn't stopped…

"Don't get mushy…"

"But then nothing again. Then at the end of the night he's just like I'll talk to you when we get back to school-"

"Cold."

"I know. But earlier…"

"He's licking food off your face."

"Yeah."

"That boy is giving you mixed signals-"

"What should I do? Is he blowing me off? Does he not want me to call of text him until breaks over or what should I do? Should I do something? Does he want me to text him…"

"Wait. Let's conference Tina in-she's at least got a boyfriend. Hang on-"

Blaine waited until Kurt had let himself into the dark house and then sped back to the main road. He was so frustrated. His dad, Karovsky, Kurt just wanting to be friends, how he'd messed everything up. Blaine realized how cowardly he was-there was no hiding it- Kurt had to see- and suddenly he was just so mad. He found himself pulling into the Starbuck's parking lot. He was looking for Karovsky. He didn't know what he was going to do when he found him- call him out, beat him up, well, probably get beaten up. But he didn't care. He was going to stand up for Kurt.

But the football player was not there.

Blaine ended up ordering a second drink and putting it in the cup holder right next to still almost full first. Then he drove off to the last place in the world he felt like going.

Kurt talked with Mercedes and Tina for over an hour and although each of them went overboard psychoanalyzing both Blaine and Kurt all their collective wisdom basically boiled down to-he's sending you mixed messages-either he likes you as more than a friend or he just likes you as a friend and he likes to lick people's faces-which Kurt could've worked out on his own.

"Have you noticed him lick anyone else?" Mercedes asked.

"No!" Kurt shrieked wishing he could find someway to end this conversation. The girls were never going to let this go.

"You have to play hard to get. Act casual-like you don't really care either way-

"Sometimes you can get a little desperate…

"Yeah, Kurt, no puppy dog eyes-"

"Strong…don't show any emotion. No desire. No lust. Nothing. Not until he makes his messages absolutely clear."

"She's right. You've got to play hard to get. Show him what you are worth "

Finally, Kurt got the girls off the phone. He flopped down on his bed and held his phone. He noticed that no one- no one meaning Blaine-had called or texted him. He was staring at his phone trying to decide if he should send a quick text himself.

HOPE YOU MADE IT HOME SAFE delete…

HOPE YOUR DADS NOT TOO MAD delete…

I HAD A GREAT TIME TONIGHT delete

Everything he could come up with sounded like something Carole might type.

Suddenly his phone vibrated and he jumped. "Hello?"

"Do not text him. I mean it Kurt. Do not text him. I know you were laying there composing a text in your head. But do not do it. Do not hit send." Tina hung up before Kurt could argue. He groaned and threw the phone onto a pile of Finn's clothes in the corner.

Blaine flopped down on his bed and pulled out his phone. No messages. No texts. He thought about texting Kurt.

HOPE YOU HAD A GOOD TIME TODAY

SORRY ABOUT MY DAD

GOOD CHOICE OF LATTE-YOU SHOULD ORDER FOR ME ALL THE TIME

But he hit delete all three times too. Twice he had tried to kiss Kurt and twice he gotten blown off. Okay, the first time, his dad ruined the timing but the second time he got a long speech from Kurt about how glad he was that they were FRIENDS. That couldn't be more obvious. Could it?

So no way he could text him. That would be too desperate. Blaine groaned and threw his phone across the room.

The boys' phones didn't fare so well for the rest of their winter break. Before Kurt woke up the next morning, Carole had scooped up Finn's pile of dirty clothes-Kurt's phone and all-and deposited them into the washing machine.

Kurt shrieked and yelled and carried on…

"But I don't understand, dear, how was your phone in Finn's laundry?"

Kurt emitted a painful, animal noise.

"I'm so sorry…If I had known…" Carole was almost in tears.

"Kurt." Burt tried to intervene.

"I know. I know. I know. It's just."

"Why did Finn have your phone? Did you loan it to him?"

"No, I just threw the phone in a moment of frustration and…It's impossible to explain…just…fine…I'll just be off the grid for awhile. It's fine. I'll be fine. Don't worry about me."

Carole and Burt exchanged confused looks. They shrugged when they heard the basement door slam.

Mr. Anderson seemed to be in a better mood at breakfast the next morning. As he finished his bacon he looked almost gleeful.

"Phone, please." He said.

"What?" Blaine looked up, confused.

"Phone. I need your phone."

"Do you need to make a call?" Blaine knew he was walking a fine line.

"No. I'm going to confiscate it until school starts again. That's is your consequence for having friends over without permission."

"I don't have it on me."

Mr. Anderson raised an eyebrow.

"Why would I bring it to breakfast?" _Please don't check my pocket. Please don't check my pocket._

"And I'm going to need all your passwords."

"What?"

"It's a father's responsibility to check what his son is doing on-line."

"You mean on his phone."

"Careful-"Mr. Anderson warned.

"Dad-"

"Go get your phone now."

Blaine went upstairs to his bedroom trying to figure out how he could erase any incriminating texts. How could he possible go through them all? "Shit…" He thought hitting delete all the way back downstairs hoping his father would get bored reading through all the Warbler texts and not dig too deep.

"Here…"

"Fine. When you are done at your mother's stop by on your way back to Dalton Sunday and the phone will be returned to you. But if you pull any crap like that again-"

"Crap like what?" Blaine asked.

Mr. Anderson glared at his son and Blaine dropped it. "See you Sunday." He said and then went to his room to grab his things. He left for his mom's right after breakfast.


	5. Chapter 5

The two friends had not talked, e-mailed, or texted at all for the last week and a half of their break. Kurt was frustrated and upset about this but he couldn't be entirely sure that Blaine hadn't called because his cell phone had accidentally gone through the wash with a load of exceptionally dirty Finn clothes. But Blaine also hadn't e-mailed. Kurt had checked. Several times a day. But maybe Blaine had called the permanently drenched and disabled phone and had gotten no response from Kurt so he didn't try e-mail. Or the Hummel-Hudson land line. Or the Hummel-Hudson front doorbell. Or…

So when he arrived back at Dalton and saw at Blaine at the end of the hall Kurt pretended he didn't see his friend wave and continued to his room. It was hard to do but he was playing hard to get. He was following the wise advice of Mercedes and Tina.

Oh god. He hoped he could trust Mercedes and Tina's advice. How much did they really know about the inner workings of gay relationships? Or about relationships in general? Do gay guys fall for hard to get? How much do I even know about the inner workings of gay relationships, Kurt thought, since I've never had one?

Kurt threw his carry-on onto his bed in frustration.

There was no immediate knock on her door. He was kind of hoping Blaine had seen him come in and would hurry up to Kurt's dorm room to say hi. Blaine didn't come.

Blaine saw Kurt come through the front door. He was carrying a designer bag that looked stuffed to the gills. Blaine busted out into a smile and made to wave but Kurt didn't see him. Or did he? Kurt hadn't called or texted him all break. Blaine knew this because after he picked up his phone from his dad, it was the first thing he checked after hopping into his car for the ride back to Dalton. He had plenty of messages and texts-from David and Wes and Max and Kelvin and his sister but none from Kurt.

So he followed David and Wes back to their room for a ping-pong tournament on Wii.

"Seriously, guys?"

"Man, it's awesome. I get to be the big Samoan guy." Wes smiled.

Kurt did not stop by to say hi. Blaine kept hoping but every time the door opened it was another Warbler stopping in to say hi.

"You've lost 10 games in a row-do you just suck at ping pong or are you that distracted? Go see Kurt."

"What?"

"It's obvious, dude."

"Obvious?"

"To us, at least."

"It's pretty obvious that he likes you too." Wes continued.

"He didn't call me all break."

"I thought your dad confiscated your phone."

"Well, yes. But I checked the caller ID-"

"-The minute you got the phone back?" David finished for him.

Wes and David looked at each other.

"What?" Blaine threw up his hands.

"You've got it bad." Wes said.

"Go. Talk to him." David pushed Blaine toward the door. "Now."

As he slipped through the door, Blaine grabbed his coat. He actually had a plan. Or maybe not, it depended on if Kurt seemed happy to see him or not.

He knocked on the sophomore's door. Kurt answered almost instantaneously. A huge smile broke over Kurt's face. "Hey!"

"Get your coat." Blaine commanded with a smile. "I want you to come out and play with me."

"What?"

"I'm kidnapping you for an hour. I've got to show you something."

Kurt's heart was beating a mile a minute. Play hard to get. Play hard to get. "I didn't hear from you at all over the rest of break." Damn Kurt. That's not hard to get that's needy and desperate.

"Sorry," Blaine said sheepishly. "My dad took my phone and restricted all access to technology-for having non-approved guests over."

"Sorry-" Kurt looked down at his hands. He was a little embarrassed that he'd been so upset. "I lost my phone too. It ended up in a load of Finn's laundry. It went through the heavily soiled clothes cycle. It didn't have a chance of survival."

Blaine laughed. "Did you loan it to Finn? You must have been angry that he ruined your phone."

"It was actually my fault. I threw it in a moment of cell-phone frustration."

"Did you send an unfortunately worded text?"

"More like, I didn't receive a text that I was longing for…" Oh god, did I just say that out load. Kurt blushed and looked down at his shoes.

Blaine wondered who Kurt was hoping would text him. Did Kurt have his eye on someone special? Did he have a crush? Kurt would've told him, wouldn't he? He couldn't have meant him right? Or could he?

They walked into town and to a small coffee and ice cream place. Kurt was freezing. Coffee, wonderful! But Blaine put his hand on his arm and led Kurt to the ice cream counter.

"You took me for a walk on a beautiful, snowy 12 degree day to get ice cream?" Kurt asked and then shivered dramatically.

Blaine put his arm around his friend to warm him up. "Yes! Not just any ice cream…that ice cream. We'll take two cones, please." Blaine asked the guy behind the counter.

"Pavarotti!" Kurt announced the flavor. "Caramel, Chocolate chip, and banana."

"I guess it's a real flavor but Hooligans decided to carry it in honor of-" Blaine paused dramatically and then gestured at a small picture on the wall.

"My bird!" Kurt shrieked excitedly.

"The Warblers' bird," Blaine correctly softly.

"I know." Kurt said suddenly serious. "I think I'm getting a little too attached to Pavarotti. I don't want to give him back. I'll have to think of a way of making sure no new members join."

Blaine looked at Kurt.

"I'm kidding."

"I know."

The two friends talked easily as they ate their cones, laughing and catching up about their winter breaks and all the gossip. Blaine held the door open for Kurt as they exited the café and when Kurt slid a little on a patch of ice he put his arm through Kurt's and they walked that way arm in arm all the way back up to Dalton's main gate.


	6. Chapter 6

Your Scent

Blaine wasn't sure if he could fit one more fact about Latin America in the 20th Century into his brain. The bad part about that was that he still had 4 more decades of facts to try to memorize before his test tomorrow. The good part was that when his cell phone rang he rushed to get it- happy for any distraction. What was even better is that Kurt was on the other end of the line.

"I need your help. It's kind of an emergency."

"What's going on?"

"Nothing. I mean. It's nothing bad. But I forgot something important in my car. It's past curfew for underclassmen. You have five minutes until your curfew-Mr. Junior. Could you run to my car and pick up the package? Please. It's really important."

Blaine couldn't say no. "Of course."

"A little pink bag under the passenger's seat. Thanks." Kurt clicked off knowing that Blaine only had 4 minutes now and it was going to be close.

Blaine only took enough time to slip into his sneakers so as he ran through the snow in his t-shirt and sweats he was freezing. He located Kurt's car in the parking lot. And the package was right under the seat. Blaine couldn't help but peak. A bottle of cologne. Only Kurt would have him rescuing a scent in the middle of a freezing cold night.

He jogged up the dorm stairs to the underclassmen floor and Kurt was there at the top of the stairs holding open the door.

Kurt grabbed the package, said a curt "Thanks" and turned away down the hall. The door was just about to shut when Blaine heard the familiar buzz that meant final curfew. All the doors would now be locked. Including the one to his floor. He wasn't going to sleep in the stairwell. He was able to get his foot in just in time before the door to the sophomore floor slammed shut. .

He pushed open the door. Kurt had already disappeared into his room. Blaine walked the short distance down the hallway and knocked on the door. Kurt stuck his head out. He didn't look pleased to see Blaine.

"I'm in a bad mood. I'm really not in the mood for visitors."

"I just missed curfew. I'm stuck. I can't get back to my room."

"Oh," Kurt said.

Blaine was a little put out by Kurt's obvious lack of enthusiasm. I did just rescue a bottle of perfume for you, he thought. And he was a little confused. He'd crashed in Kurt's room a couple of times when they'd been up late watching movies. Kurt didn't have a roommate yet so usually they'd push the two beds together and watch something on Blaine's laptop. And spend the evening pretending that they didn't mean to bump into each other or that the fact that one of their head swas know lying on the other's shoulder was just a casual accident. Or the fact that neither of them was watching the time and just happened to miss curfew so that Blaine would have to spend the night was purely accidental. But it was clear that Kurt did not want Blaine to come in.

There was a moment's pause and then Blaine retorted. "But it's no problem. I'm glad your cologne is safe in your room. I won't mind snuggling up in the hallway. Maybe I can curl up in a throw rug for warmth."

"Oh god." Kurt said throwing open the door. "I'm so sorry. I really appreciate you running to my car to get this. I've just had a horrible day and I'm in a bad mood. I didn't want to subject you to me."

Blaine kicked off his shoes and threw himself on the unused bed. He did not fail to notice that Kurt immediately straightened his shoes putting them neatly under the desk. Fine. Blaine thought. Last favor I do for you right before curfew but Blaine knew he'd never carry out that threat.

"Oh crap," He said instead.

Kurt looked at him.

"My Latin American Textbook is upstairs. I have 4 more chapters to read before the test tomorrow."

"Sorry," Kurt mumbled.

"It's fine." Blaine said.

Kurt hopped back into bed-even skipping his bedtime moisturizing routine. He didn't feel like talking and he hoped Blaine would get the hint. He just wanted to pretend to be asleep so he could continue feeling miserable for himself. Normally he was thrilled when Blaine was anywhere near him but he already felt ashamed that he had made Blaine run out in the cold to get his bag…he'd gone shopping earlier (retail therapy-he was in a bad, bad mood) and he had intentionally left it in there because he didn't want to drop it as he hauled in all of the other packages (it had been a really bad day) and he couldn't believe he forgot it until now. He didn't want it to get too cold and shatter in the night. He loved the scent but spilling an entire bottle all over his car would be a little overwhelming.

And now Blaine couldn't finish studying. He'd do bad on his test which would ruin his great GPA and it would be all Kurt's fault. He'd probably hate Kurt.

Kurt intentionally turned away from Blaine. "G'night."

Blaine was beginning to feel a little crabby himself. "So what designer scent did I venture forth for?"

"I do really appreciate you doing this. I'm sorry I'm in such a bad mood. I'm just pathetic. I'm absolutely pathetic. It's a perfume."

Blaine waited and the rest of the story poured out.

"It's the perfume my mother always wore. My dad used to-my parents had a dresser-dad still has it- and he always kept my mom's old scarves in the bottom drawer and they always smelled like her. He kept a bottle of her perfume in there too and when I was having a horrible day I'd just go in and open the drawer and then lay in front of it-smelling her. I know it's pathetic. Well, now the dresser is in his and Carole's room. I'm sure the drawer that used to be a shrine to my mom's smell is probably full of off season women's clothes in Carole's size. And…

"It's so pathetic but I was just so sad today. For no real reason. I went shopping by myself since that usually cheers me up but it just made me feel that much more alone. I know its been a couple months now but I still miss Mercedes. I had this crazy and pathetic idea to buy this perfume and spray it on some of my scarves in my dresser drawer. That's what I was doing when you knocked. I didn't want you to see how pathetic and desperately weird I am sometimes."

Blaine waited only a minute and then he got up and padded over to the other bed. He debated just lying down on the covers because crawling in them seemed to forward but he was still freezing from his trek to the parking lot.

He crawled under the covers and spooned up to Kurt. Every part of his body thrilled at the contact with Kurt's.

"You're not pathetic." He whispered. "You are just homesick. It must be hard- everything you've gone through at school, Karovsky, your dad being sick, I know you adore Carole but still it's a big change having her marry your dad when it's just been the two of you, changing schools, leaving your friends…you're not pathetic. You're amazing. You're just homesick. That's normal."

"You want to know something pathetic?" Blaine continued

Kurt didn't answer but he was listening intently, finally relaxing against his friend. "I get homesick for Dalton when I am not here. This is where I feel most at home. My mom's wonderful and I like hanging out with here but when she married my step-dad right after I started coming here she moved into his condo. I have a room. But it's all his furniture. I feel totally welcome. I've put up a couple posters but it doesn't feel like my house. And my dad's got his new, perfect, family. I love Addy and the Kids. But its kind of like I just come to visit. And you've met my dad…"

There was pause and Kurt rolled over. "He's not really okay with you being gay, is he?" Kurt asked quietly.

"No. I mean I kind of came out to him but he just never acted like he understood what I was saying. He freaked out that people were picking on me because they thought I was gay because being gay is THE worst thing in the world to have people think of you…he transferred me here to start over so I wouldn't have that stigma…because having people think I'm gay would just be to him the worst… So any part of me, any interest that could even be construed as being gay-even the Warblers-I leave at the door of his house and he doesn't ask me anything about girls or…I don't pretend to be straight but anything about me that would point to me being gay is off limits at his house. He pretends I am not gay and just comes at me sideways about other things. It's pretty ironic, eh? I tell you to have courage and I'm just a coward. I hide one of the best things about myself…I'm out and proud everywhere else. My mom knows, Addy knows…but I want him to keep paying for Dalton. And I am not sure what would happen if I said something…"

There was a long pause. Kurt leaned forward and kissed Blaine's nose. He realized that this was the first time that his friend had really opened up to him.

Then having shared so much there was a long while when both boys pretended they had fallen asleep while secreting laying there-hearts beating fast, stomachs knotting, skin tingling wishing that they could somehow cuddle even closer, explore the other's body with their hands, maybe even kiss. Loving every minute of the tight quarters. Thinking about how wonderful this would be if they were boyfriends and could…

Oh no, Blaine thought suddenly, think of something else. Think of something else. Think of something else.

Eventually, they both did drifted off to sleep. And when Kurt woke, Blaine was gone- having gotten up really early so that he could sneak back through the recently opened doors for his own room before there were too many students crowding in the hall. Kurt smiled. He rolled over taking a deep breath into the half of the pillow Blaine had used. Now he had a second scent that he loved and that made him feel safe and comfortable.


End file.
